How gorgeous is this quilt? As always McCalls has great instructions for this project, and even easier: you can buy their exclusive quilt kit with all the fabric you need for the top and binding. Super!

You can pick up a print or digital edition here, or read more about what other goodies are in this issue in McCall's blog!

January 15, 2014

I've been home since Monday but still haven't really come down yet. And haven't unpacked all the way yet, but we won't talk about that right now.

The Mart is always an exercise in overwhelmingness. Over the top sensory overload in every possible way, so much so you can't really escape it at night when you close your eyes. You'd think that all the cocktail receptions might help with that, but no, not really. Close your eyes at night and all you can see is colors, products, people talking, more products, more colors, stuff people people stuff stuff stuff . . . or maybe that's just me who does this.

We've already determined that I don't get out much.

At any rate it's an intense crazy experience, super fun, and super productive.

Atlanta was just coming out of single-digit temperatures when I arrived late Wednesday night. It was still pretty cold out when I hit the ground running the next morning. The next few days there was drizzle, dramatic downpours, flash-flood warnings, tornado warnings . . . I mean, come on Atlanta. You're just showing off now.

I was ridiculously giddy about running to a few showrooms first to finally meet my new products in person; these were all projects that were started after meetings at last year's Gift Mart - what a treat to get to see the items like this after everyone's hard work on them last year. These items are not in stores yet - but there were retailers placing orders for them at the show so they should start hitting store shelves by spring. I'll keep you posted when I know more.

There are little doors for your tree trunks, little tables, chairs, accessories . . . I seriously can't wait for spring to start playing with this stuff in my own yard.

I used to create these kinds of vignettes in the woods when we'd go camping, with pine cones and moss and rocks and sticks and stuff. Resin figures drawn by me? Forget about it. I am on it. I am 7 again.

Really cool for me that my dear friend Shelly's adorbs dog and cat figurines were scattered around with mine in the display. I love it when my stuff and my friends' stuff gets to be friends, too. Along with the figurines are treat jars, pet mats, leash-hooks, wall art, and more.

I almost cried when I saw the tiny Flossies.

This collection was extra special for me because I created all of it during my last month with my precious little white beastie on my lap. She oversaw every detail. See all the sketchy little cross-hatch work in the flat pieces? You might remember this video of her while I was drawing it.

And there were spring garden flags in the Carson Home Accents showroom, love how these turned out!

My little birdies around my head and my Easter eggs below. The Easter eggs are actually sparkly (you know I love that!) and the egg colors are actually really bright and fresh in person, but they photograph sort of greyish because of the sparkles.

I think I squeeeeed out loud once again when I saw my cupcake tabletop collection on display in the Transpac showroom. I've seen photos, but in person . . . a-whole-nother thing. I'm not accustomed to seeing my drawings translated into 3D - this is all still fairly new to me and soooooo exciting.

I'm also really happy with my Les Veggies kitchen goodies by Transpac - those of you with the La Cuisine recipe binders will soon be able to coordinate the rest of your kitchen as matchy-poo as can be. I love this!

And Transpac also printed some really nice wall canvases with my designs

including . . . my favorite:

Ok, I think there may be one or two 1980s Cornish alumni out there reading this: who remembers this quote? A certain college president and his answer to every problem? I'd been wanting to put it on a design for years, and finally did.

There were other Beth Logan goodies in other places, but we can talk about that another time. I think we've all had about enough of me me me me me for now.

One of the best things about this show is the opportunity all of us self-employed work-at-home artists get to meet up and share - it's a big lovey hug-fest of ginormous proportions. I mean, really. It totally is. I am so blessed to be part of an industry where these kind and gifted people are my colleagues, my friends, my confidantes . . . this amazing group of crazy-talented folks is the best.

This picture represents only the ones who were able to stand still long enough for the photo, many others at this get-together were still milling about outside the frame, and others were still busy with meetings and signings back at the Mart while this was going on.

But what this crazy picture is: it's a veritable Who's Who of the Art Licensing industry. Do you live on the earth? Do you own stuff? Have you ever received cards or gifts? Then you have things with these people's art on it. And guess what? They're all really neat folks. You'd like them.

A whirlwind of meetings, receptions, meet & greets, dinners, research & trend-spotting, shopping (!) and suddenly it was my last day there: gorgeous and sunny and in the 60s. After days of quick cab-rides through the cold rain, I finally got my chance to leisurely stroll through the park back to my hotel,

soaking in the sun (it's been a while since I've soaked in 60-degree sunshine),

people-watching,

and feeling good about all I accomplished business-wise

...and shopping-wise.

I smiled as the sun set on my trip,

and I knew that soon I would be home . . . back to jammie pants and fuzzy socks, cuddling with Molly, Ted, and Husband Guy here in my quiet, plain, comfortable little house. There's no place like home.

June 06, 2012

Today I saw the surface of my desk for the first time in several weeks. That feels much better. I've missed it. I've missed drawing. I'm excited to get creative and get focused on some of the fun new projects I discussed with licensing partners at Surtex. But I couldn't do that until I found the desk under the mess.

As if that in itself wasn't motivation enough, 2 little packages of goodies arrived to nudge me along. One held the sweetest little gift from one of my friends at Henry Glass Fabrics! It's a cuter-than-cute little organizer that fits over/around a coffee mug, with useful little pockets inside and out, sewn with my Love to Craft fabric (modeled after The Divine Miss Flossie, of course, so it immediately coordinates with my studio!). How cute is that? As you can see, it became immediately useful organizing the want-at-hand odds and ends that were left loose on my desk once I cleared the clutter away.

And the other box: cards! Yay! This time, it's 2 beautiful offerings from Marian Heath Greeting Cards. Here's a sneak-peek! One is a pretty birthday card that I wish I could have photographed better, but I'll just have to tell you - it's very cool. It's got a velvety matte finish, but each daisy on the front has a neato varnish treatment so the daisies are spiffy-shiny. Really nice. And the sweet baby boy card - well, you can see the cool little die-cut peek-a-boo detail there! I just think they're both super cute, quality pieces and I hope you do too!

February 16, 2012

Sometimes the extra bonus goodness I get to experience from this crazy job I have is just too much, I really am constantly blessed in spite of myself!

Art Licensing can create a very distant and removed lifestyle for artists. Most of us who do this work alone in our studios, often quite isolated from the real world. On one hand, that's something I enjoy about it - I tend to be happy with what may seem to most folks like an unnatural volume of peace, quiet, and privacy. On the other hand, we are so far removed from the end consumer that it's difficult sometimes to grasp the big picture - departments and focus groups and agencies and committees, manufacturers and distributors and sales reps and retailers; the list of entities separating a licensing artist from the person who buys and lives with our products is pretty vast. But that's just how the machine works; I could never make and sell my stuff like they do.

You don't go into this field expecting to make friends or share warm fuzzy moments. But it happens. The mentors, muses, and dear friends I've been blessed with make my life full and happy.

One such unexpected friendship began a couple months ago. A nice woman in Kentucky wanted to make a rag-quilt for a Christmas present for her grandson who loves camping. She was searching the web for flannel with squirrels on it (!) and stumbled on my Etsy shop where I still had yardage from my At The Lake collection. Who knew I was about to make a friend?

We chatted online, one thing led to another, and when she had finished that one, made 2 others with more of my flannel - then offered to make me one for me. I almost tear up just telling you about this (talk amongst yourselves) how sweet and generous is that?!

It arrived when I was in Atlanta attending AmericasMart last month. I could hardly wait to open the package, but I didn't share it with you right away because as you can see, the blanket and I had some very important work to catch up with that first day home.

If you don't believe that this holds a prominent and beloved place in our household, take a closer look at all the pet hairs that have embedded, literally woven themselves into the fabric. Curling up on the couch on chilly winter evenings here means there is at least one furry family member on top of you, usually two.

But in spite of the hairs, isn't that cool? I love it, and it fits perfectly into our decor and lifestyle!

And finally, this amazing gift:

The happy recipient of the original quilt drew me a picture (look at that awesome tent and camp fire - I love this!).

And like a true Southern Gentleman, charmed me to death with sweet compliments.

New friends, and physical, tangible reminders right here to treasure; I have so much to be thankful for, to fill my heart and make me smile - next time you catch me being a grouch or curmudgeon, you have my permission to just slap me. I mean it.

September 21, 2011

This one is a beauty, isn't it? A lovely lady named Naida created this quilt with my Sunset Lodge flannel fabric for a wedding present for her grandson and his bride.

The folks at Henry Glass got us in touch when Naida was in a panic without the yardage necessary to finish her project - and it wasn't available elsewhere. Fortunately I had what she needed and the quilt was finished just in time to get it to her long-arm quilter with a couple weeks to spare (!) to get the binding finished before the wedding!

Naida was nice enough to share this picture of the top before the quilt was finished - this is a big one, folks; it took 2 people holding it over the edge of a second-story deck and another with the camera to get a shot of the whole thing (thanks to Naida's helpers for this!).

What an amazing gift! I'm sure this beautiful piece will be treasured for generations to come. And if you'd like to see a larger picture, head over to my Facebook Page!

September 19, 2011

It's always fun to see what creative people do with my fabrics, and here's one I might have never known about if it wasn't for my good friend Sue. Last month while vacationing at the gorgeous Mohonk Mountain House she stumbled on these little beauties in the gift shop.Tuthilltown Tots creates beautifully made little baby gift sets: cute bibs, little hooded towels, and "Boo-Boo Animals" (little washcloth guys!) and this set features some of my Lodge fabric from last year.What a perfect match, don't you think?Thanks so much Sue for sharing these pictures!

July 17, 2011

One of my favorite things about getting to do this for a living is seeing where my art finally ends up - from a few coasters on an end-table or a picture on someone's wall to amazing creations that talented folks sew and craft with my fabrics and scrapbooking supplies.

Because it's always rewarding to get to see when your babies find good homes.

And each little product with my designs on it is just that - my babies.

Whenever I get a chance, I'll share them here on my blog, but too often I don't get around to blogging as often as I'd like, and pictures or links to neato stuff gets sort of buried in my "stuff to blog someday" folder. So to simplify things a bit, now in addition to every-now-and-again blog posts where I share these fun things, I'm starting a new photo album on my Facebook Page for this specific purpose - just for show-and-tell.2 very attractive models show off matching gardening aprons made from my April Showers panel by Henry Glass.

If you've sewn something with any of my fabrics, crafted with my scrapbook designs, or if you've just got a really cute corner of your home where you've incorporated my art in some way, I would love to see - and share - pictures of that. Please feel free to drop me a line and share a photo or a link, I'd love to hear from you and see what you've been up to!

In the meantime, check out a few of the projects already in the album. I'll be adding more as I dig up photos that nice people have sent me over the years (and find folks to make sure I have permission to share on The Interwebs!) so stay tuned!

June 21, 2010

Ooh-ooh-ooh, look at this!Cheri Campbell created this adorable little quilt with my Noah's Journey fabric for a very special baby boy (welcome, Rafferty!) and look how cute it turned out! She used the big panel for the backing and the multicolor polka-dots in a courthouse steps pattern, perfectly framing the little animal squares. Really nice design!Thanks Cheri, for sharing your beautiful handiwork!

Oh, and in sort-of-top-secret news ... rumour has it that Noah's Journey will be reappearing as cotton-flannel later this year! I will keep you posted...

January 18, 2009

You'd think one might figure out what the heck one is doing before making a bold statement, on The World Wide Interwebs, no less, like "every day this week I will (insert promise here)"...you know, one might actually plan ahead or think realistically about what else one is required to accomplish in said period of time? You'd think.

Maybe a smarter New Year's Resolution than these silly things might have been think harder before blurting out the words "I promise". Yeah, once again yours truly has over-committed myself in a rather impressive way and feels sort of dumb about it. When I was a little girl and couldn't finish the food on my plate my dad would tell me "my eyes were bigger than my tummy." This little phrase pops into my head quite often, but unfortunately not so much regarding food any more (sigh, if only I couldn't finish every plate of food so efficiently).

This is a very stumble-over-myselfy way to say that I don't have a previously-promised giveaway goody for today, but will catch up when I have more than a couple seconds to toss a super-quick post up here...really I will. But in the mean time, I couldn't wait to share this with you:

My incredibly talented friend Sarah's very first quilt! Looks awfully cozy to me. I'm so touched that her first is created with my At the Lake fabrics...I really do love seeing what people make with my designs, gives me a real rush. So here's another little reminder for the rest of you, to enter a drawing for a free fat quarter bundle, just leave a comment on this post.

September 18, 2008

Well now I realize I am still in end-of-summer-denial here, while my blogging friends are posting about frost and baking pies and featuring cute new autumn designs I can't seem to let go of this beach and vacation theme.

Really I do love fall, and September has always been my favorite month...but getting into it is terribly difficult for me this year. Blame our dismal, cold and dark spring that lasted until July.

But now this: although it's still a camping theme, this involves cozy flannel. See, I'm inching toward accepting cooler nights (baby steps). And not just any cozy flannel, but my At the Lake flannels from Henry Glass. Check your favorite local quilt-shop, or you can find some online retailers who carry this line by clicking here...although if you've visited my website recently, you might have to delete "recent-history" to reset your browser for the new links to show up, because I just updated the site with them today!Anyway, trying to catch up with everyone and everything after my trip last week, I stumbled onto Henry Glass's new blog and was so excited to find this amazing creation: Designed and sewn by the talented Kathy Burchill of North Dakota...you'll find details about her design and contact info for the pattern on the HG blog, where you'll also see a larger, more detailed picture of this beautiful quilt. Look at that applique work (click the picture to see it BIG) she's created her own personalized "at the lake" camping scene, complete with critters and tents and even a campfire! Too cool!

Although my own vacation time was spent on rivers and the ocean this summer and not an actual lake, there was certainly enough waterside inspiration to carry me through the colder months when I'm holed up inside where it's warm, drawing and painting...and you can be sure that will include many more designs like At the Lake!

As for letting go of summer, I'm still not all-the-way there yet. Yeah, the thought of a cozy flannel quilt on a cool evening sounds kind of nice, maybe next month...

And stay tuned for more, I plan on diving headfirst into my first "real" sewing project(s?) since the late 70s (seriously, it's been that long) and that should be worth a chuckle or two (or at least an eye roll) and also will be devising some sort of giveaway here soon (got stacks?!) perhaps a simple contest or drawing?